Acts 5:17-18 Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. 

The Apostles loved God dearly, were submitted to Him, were preaching the Gospel and yet they ended up in jail. Most of the Apostles would suffer beatings, mockery, stoning and eventually martyrdom, and they would suffer willingly and graciously, praising God, that He would be glorified through their lives and honored by their deaths.

I read an article about how North Korea had executed 80 people at one time in 2015 because they had Bibles in their possession. Around the world, Christians face intense persecution and even martyrdom. Coptic Christians in Egypt are being murdered. Christians in Syria are being murdered. Christians in China, Eritrea, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and many other places are being arrested and jailed. One of the greatest church planters of the 1900s, Watchman Nee, wrote many of his books while imprisoned in China for twenty years until his death in ’72. During this time, he wrote, “The sight of any trouble strikes terror into the heart of those who do not have faith, but those who trust Him say, “Here comes my food!”

If we perceive trouble and difficulty in our lives as misfortune or bad karma or even as unwarranted, then we will miss out on the spiritual buffet from God that He prepares for us at the table of suffering. But if we will remember our position in Christ when we are at that table of suffering we will understand that God has seated us in the position of honor.

Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

Knowing this precious truth of our grand position in Christ, we can move forward into adversity just as Winston-Churchill dared the British people to face the evil of Hitler saying, “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.” Mr. Churchill, as England was being bombed by the Germans, made a speech to the graduating class of his former school in which he said, “Never ever ever ever quit.” But most notably, in the face of terrible destruction, violent warfare, and an uncertain future, he said, “These are not dark days; these are great days – the greatest days our country has ever lived; and we must all thank God that we have been allowed, each of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race.” Whatever the days of our lives may bring, let us Christians thank God that He counts us worthy to suffer and bear reproach for His sake. That is an honor far beyond any other blessing.

Acts 5:40-42 And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

How many Christians today believe it to be the other way around, that we should be honored in His name rather than rejoicing at being dishonored on account of His name? In Christ we are much more than conquerers, we are servants, even suffering servants just as our Lord Jesus was. And it is our greatest honor to find ourselves dishonored on account of His name, that we may serve Jesus the way that He served and that we may be living testimonies to the world of the long-suffering grace of God.